Yoga Enterprise

Grosse Pointe Woods yoga business replaces Ferndale studio plans in New Center redevelopment

A building renovation project along Woodward Avenue in Detroit’s New Center is swapping tenants of a yoga studio and bringing Full Lotus Yoga from Grosse Pointe Woods.

Full Lotus, which specializes in vinyasa-style yoga, is expanding from its home base on Mack Ave., which opened in 2013. 20365 to a second location.

Work is underway on a third floor in a 6505 Woodward Ave. building owned by Barbat Organization Inc., based in Birmingham.

Full Lotus is expected to open at 2,650 square feet in early fall, according to a press release. It offers courses, workshops, wellness events and yoga teacher training. Drop-ins for individual courses are $ 18 and a month of unlimited courses is $ 108 ($ 89 with auto-payment).

Barbat originally signed a lease for the same space with Caren Paskel, the owner of EnSoul Yoga. Paskel rents from Barbat in its original downtown Ferndale location and also rents the 39th floor of the Guardian Building in downtown Detroit. New Center would have been EnSoul’s third location.

Duane Barbat, a partner in the Barbat organization, said Paskel had experienced a “change of heart”.

“It had nothing to do with the location itself, she just got a little nervous about the proximity to the Detroit location and the Ferndale location – right in the middle,” Barbat told Crain’s.

Crain left Paskel a message soliciting a comment.

Barbat and Full Lotus got together and signed a lease about six weeks ago, Barbat said. Paskel’s New Center lease has been terminated – although Barbat is still her landlady on Nine Mile Road in Ferndale, where she opened her original yoga studio in 2016.

Jeanne Gross, Vice President of the Farbman Group, represented Full Lotus Yoga in the lease, according to the press release. Dan Callaway, a senior associate with the Farbman Group, represented Barbat.

Developer Barbat Organization is renovating the 1922-square-foot building on the northwest corner of Milwaukee and Woodward Avenues. She bought the building in December 2017 for $ 545,000 from the estate of Ralph G. Sachs, according to Barbat and the city’s real estate records.

Barbat refused to provide project costs.

Motown Coney Island moved out of the building’s 1,275-square-foot corner area on the ground floor earlier this year, Barbat said. Lake Trust Credit Union, based in Brighton, signed a lease for the 1,425 square meter space next to it. No tenants were selected for the office space on the second floor.

According to Barbat, the Motown Coney was looking for more space and Barbat couldn’t give it because the property developer had rented space to the credit union. Crain left a message on Motown asking for a comment.

Barbat Organization is looking for a new restaurant tenant.

“We’re looking for something unique to the area,” said Barbat. “Something that will cause a stir in the neighborhood.”

The three-story building is at the southern end of a Woodward block adjacent to Grand Boulevard, in which several restaurants are planned by established restaurateurs: A new Italian restaurant by Supino Pizzeria owner Dave Mancini and a Mediterranean restaurant by the Selden Standard team are in Job. The winner of the Hatch Detroit competition, Baobab Fare, plans to open nearby as well this year.

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